2020 update : JC Verdier La Platine

Hi @Dover, I am interested at your comment! Not meant to argue, but these optical tables are exactly the same ones that came with the Rockport TTs, and they were originally designed for electronic microscopes which required maximum stability! So, why would you think they are unstable? 

As far as I understand, you do need some sort of compliance somewhere in the rack, platform etc. to block vibrations. If you have a completely rigid stand, sure the vibrations from your TT can be transferred to the floor, but at the same time vibration from the floor can also reach the TT. 

Hi @ledoux1238   >The purpose of the optical table or any such devices is to counteract the vibration from the floor surface with its own vibration.< 

I may have misunderstood your comment, but just to clarify, as far as I understand, the air-suspended optical tables don’t generate opposing vibration on its own, but just block some vibration from entering the top platform. In contrary, the newer active anti-vibration platforms do generate opposing vibrations to nullify the vibration from the floor. By the specifications alone, the newer active anti-vibration platforms do perform better than the air-suspended optical tables, but I haven’t have the chance to compare them side by side yet! So, I would be very interested at your comment on the active anti-vibration platform once you have try them!

I became curious as to what could be done at my end and so I decided to try putting the la platine on the wall shelf i have.  i had previously thought the la platine too heavy.  however i loaded the shelf up with 55 kgs of weight and it seemed fine so i decided to go ahead.

an hour or so later it was done.  now the la platine had less vibration management as i could not get the wellfloat onto there also.  but i figured i could use that with the phono.

huge improvement!  clearly @dover was right and the credenza is not the hifi stand i want it to be.  even without the wellfloat, the la platine on a wall shelf was an order of magnitude better.  even the shak n spin results reflected this straight away with a w/f reading of 0.04/0.02.  much better than i had been able to achieve on credenza.

i listened to david bowie's "heroes".  songs sounded remarkably fresher.  more live.  i have been trying no ball as i find the ball can sound a bit thick, a bit garrardish (but also exciting and good).  now that i have improved the base condition so much i will go back to ball and see if it helps rather than hinders.  with the ball the song is being written with a heavy pen is how i see it.  without the ball the song pulls together from gossamer fibers, diffuse and scattered a bit.  without ball late at night is pretty great.  can just lack punch sometimes.

@thekong 

Hi @Dover, I am interested at your comment! Not meant to argue, but these optical tables are exactly the same ones that came with the Rockport TTs, and they were originally designed for electronic microscopes which required maximum stability! So, why would you think they are unstable? 

Its the lack of grounding.

So years ago my ref TT was set up on an airbag, next to a Goldmund Reference.

Much better TT than the Goldmund other than a mid base "fatness". Well, remove the air bag an voila, no mid base fatness, bottom end cleaner, quicker, more agile and more transparent.

To be fair my TT is designed specifically to dump energy to ground and uses a superplastic zinc alloy in the plinth that dissipates any disturbances between 10hz and 100hz via grain sliding at a molecular level. So it only has to worry about anything under 10hz.

Historically I believe TT manufacturers targeted a suspension to cover any disturbance at 3-4hz, which if I recall correctly is the typical resonance of a footfall on a sprung timber floor. 

I had an old villa built in 1924 with tongue and groove flooring over joists. Now I have a mid century house with substantial concrete floors, not thin floating concrete as is the norm now, 2ft thick with substantial amount of gravel base.

What I have  found with the wooden floors over the years is that with my ref heavyweight TT ( I've had it for close to 40 years ), hanging the TT on a structural wall is superior to air suspension. Quicker, cleaner and more precise. The isolation may not be as good in theory, but I still get a massive drop in noise floor compared to any rack on the wooden floor.

My guess is that all these TT manufacturers offering air suspension solutions are simply ensuring their TT's can cover the worst possible environment without bad customer feedback. Imagine selling a $100k plus TT to someone who expects the best, and the needle jumps out every time they breathe.

Reading the last comments made from the few contributors, matches my own reports.

My reports are based on a subjective evaluation, but it is experienced that when the under TT structure is considered and how the structure is anchored to the local structures of the home, really does create a change to the perception of the End Sound capable of being produced.

When a particular configuration is used the perception that the End Sound has tidied up considerably is unavoidable to notice.

In relation to having materials in use that are with properties that efficiently dissipate and Damp. The use of a Board Material produced from a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board is the easiest route to create this desirable property at a mechanical interface. 

The Plinth for the Verdier Platine in my assessment will become a much improved mechanical interface if produced from a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board as the upper most tier of the support structure. Using the same material as sub tiers will add to the value of the support structure.  

@mr_gray What is your wall made out of? What kind of wall shelf?

@thekong You are right about my vibration comment. I have conflated several isolation technologies by simply lumping them into a vibration vs vibration interaction. The optical table has air bearing devices at the top of each pillars. Vibration is counteracted by a floating film of air….my mistake. BTW I found a link to a locally made optical table worth an inquiry: https://www.unice-eo.com/product/%E5%85%89%E6%A9%9F%E6%A2%B0%E5%85%83%E4%BB%B6/%E9%9C%87%E5%8B%95%E6%8E%A7%E5%88%B6/%E5%AE%A2%E8%A3%BD%E5%8C%96%E5%85%89%E5%AD%B8%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C%E6%A1%8C/uctr-series---granite-vibration-free-workstation, worth looking into. 

@dover Your house has 24” ( 60 cm ) concrete floor slab. That’s not a typo? Wow! And I assume your TT is located on the ground floor.